1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a synergistic agricultural formula including at least one diacyl or diaryl urea and at least one metal-complex.
2. Description of the Background
Ethylene is a gaseous hydrocarbon used in a wide range of industrial and agricultural applications. It is produced naturally in plant cells and regulates the cell cycle and natural ripening and aging process in plants. In agriculture, ethylene concentration is often manipulated using exogenous applications of ethylene, ethylene precursors and promoters and ethylene inhibitors to control cell cycling, the crop's response to the environment, flowering, fruit retention and ripening.
Ethylene levels also increase in plants as a direct response to environmental stress through the signaling pathway of reactive oxygen species. Wherein inefficient use of the suns energy through the plants photosynthetic apparatus cause the buildup of reactive oxygen species, which then signal the conversion of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) into cellular ethylene. This buildup of ethylene offsets the plants hormone balance and leads to premature crop decline.
Chemical applications are widely used in agriculture to inhibit ethylene in plants. Through these practices those skilled in the art of the science can achieve a variety of agronomic and horticultural advantages in their cropping systems. These effects would include, but are not limited to, increased fruit retention, improvements in root architecture and reductions in environmental stress responses that can ultimately promote juvenility, growth and other yield parameters resulting in increased yield. Effective chemical applications are often limited by application timing, crop type, economics and regulatory actions in the specific regions the applications are warranted.
Adequate inhibition of ethylene can be used throughout the crops lifecycle to promote juvenility and improve root architecture, by promoting hormone balance and natural apical dominance within the plant. Inhibition during flowering and fruit sizing can increase flower and fruit set, fruit size and fruit retention. Inhibition after fruit sizing can delay ripening and extend the cropping system. Ethylene inhibition during stressful environmental events can reduce the effects of stress promoting normal growth and development and decreasing plant damage from said stress.
Elemental cobalt and solutions thereof are well known to reduce ethylene levels in plants. Cobalt works by actively blocking the conversion of ACC into ethylene. This has the added benefits of increasing the ACC pool, leading to the increased production of beneficial polyamines within the plant cell. However, cobalt applications are only partially effective in blocking this pathway, therefore cellular physiological phases and or environmental factors can overwhelm this mechanism resulting in incomplete ethylene inhibition and ultimately a disruption in the hormone balance, leading to decreased product and application efficacy.
N,N′-diformylurea is a proprietary organic molecule that also inhibits ethylene production in plants. It functions by quenching the reactive oxygen species signal that causes the conversion of ACC to ethylene. This molecule shows dramatic effects in inhibiting excess cellular ethylene resulting in the maintenance of hormonal balance, plant growth and productivity. However, under conditions that favor ethylene production; N,N′-diformylurea is limited by its intracellular concentration. Excesses of reactive oxygen species can overwhelm the reactive oxygen species scavenging ability of the N,N′-diformylurea and allow ethylene signals to leak through, thus reducing its efficacy. This effect is reduced by using multiple exogenous applications over a seven to fourteen day intervals throughout the duration of excess reactive oxygen generation; but this use pattern is only economically feasible in very specific situations where crop value exceeds the cost of application over time. This limits its value in some agricultural situations.